


Immovable centre

by Fiala



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Other, gender neutral / non-binary shepard, i tried to do fluff but it got a bit sad, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 17:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10621674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiala/pseuds/Fiala
Summary: 'Shepard, our immovable centre, where one can stop to rest and catch her breath,' - Dr. ChakwasThane has some doubts about being in a relationship with Shepard. Shepard is determined not to let him die alone, even if that means remaining a close friend.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm playing through ME2 for the second time (lost my original file because my xbox is finicky). Even though I've been romancing Liara faithfully throughout the trilogy, the Thane romance got me right in the feels.
> 
> Partially inspired by the conversation with Chakwas after you get her a new bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy.

Shepard was immovable when determined. This was something Thane had noted from the night he’d met them. That was the same night as when he’d completed the Dantius assignment.

They were steadfast while under fire. He had many stark memories of their resilience, their stubbornness. It was Shepard—the immovable centre—where one could stop and catch his breath.

“I don’t doubt what I feel for you, but it sounds like you do,” they said, their brow furrowing.

“I do not wish to cause you pain from increased attachment,” he said, as if it were a simple thing. He couldn’t sell such simplicity to Shepard, however. They always saw right through him, like sunlight through a veil.

“Do you not feel comfortable with my admission?”

“I feel disquieted by it, for your sake,” Thane replied.

“So you’re going to treat what’s between us, my feelings for you, like they don’t exist?” Shepard exclaimed.

“I do not wish to harm you,” Thane repeated. Shepard shook their head.

“Even if you were just part of my crew, I would still grieve your death, Thane.” They leaned in closer over the table. Shepard’s hand brushed over his own.

“There’s no use in avoiding the wound to treat the pain, is there?” whispered Shepard.

“No, there is not,” he said.

“I know it sounds naive, but I want to feel what I feel for you. All the way through, no take backs. I know it will be painful. I understand, no, I accept that.”

They were so stubborn. Like the stone in the ocean, enduring even the crashing surf.

“Do you accept that Thane Krios is dying?” It spilled out of him like water. The ocean was already apart of him, filling Thane as his time grew shorter.

“I accept him. All of him,” said Shepard.

Then, Thane gasped. All the air felt like it was being compressed from his lungs. He couldn’t call it back inside. Thane did not know if the attack was by shock or by fate. It felt like both, like both didn’t matter.

He heard the chair as it scraped against the floor, the guttural cluck of Shepard’s tongue as they cursed.

Their hands flew to support him, one glided up and down his spine, the other pressed into Shepard’s comm link.

“You do know,” they remarked lightly, after barking an order to EDI for a gurney, “that you’re not the only one with a high tolerance for pain.”

Thane nodded weakly. Shepard gave him a small smile. There were laugh lines and a little dimple there. He took that expression to memory without a thought.

“I figured I can endure this pain for this love, you know why?” they asked.

“Tell me, Shepard,” replied Thane.

“Because you’re worth it,” they said.

They sat there on the floor for another half a minute. Shepard was there, holding him upright. Though he was wheezy and weak, Thane felt content.

There in his siha’s arms, he caught his breath, again-

-and again, and again.


End file.
